Dillian Whyte has admitted combat sports saved his life after multiple run-ins with death during his time on the streets.
Whyte has come a long way from his tough upbringing as he prepares for his first world title shot against WBC champion Tyson Fury this Saturday. The occasion marks the first all-British heavyweight title fight since 1993, with 94,000 fans set to be in attendance at Wembley on the night.
Interim titleholder Whyte grew up in poverty and was forced to live a dangerous lifestyle before escaping the streets through combat sports. Moving to the UK from Jamaica as a 12-year-old, Whyte admitted he is lucky to be alive after being shot and stabbed growing up.
"I grew up tough, I never had no choice. I had to be tough, I had to do things to survive," he told BT Sport. "I had kids early, I had responsibilities so I got acclimatised to a certain lifestyle and was doing certain things. Thank god I was able to make the decision 'I need to stop this and do something else'.
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"At the time I had multiple attempts on my life, I'd been shot and stabbed. going to my house and people jumping out of bins trying to shoot me. Things that happened to me, if people don't know they would think it's a movie."
Whyte has previously admitted to removing a bullet wound and sewing up a gash from a knife attack himself in an effort to avoid upsetting his mother. She worked three jobs in Jamaica and sent money to support Whyte whilst he was growing up in Brixton.
Whyte had kickboxing and MMA fights before turning professional in the ring and he admitted that people who come from his troubled background shouldn't end up where he has. "Kids like me, where I come from, shouldn't be alive, doing well and surviving," he added.
"I didn't think I'd be alive after 20 or I'd be in prison doing charges for some murders or something crazy. I didn't think I would be alive because that was the lifestyle that was forced onto me because of the way I was brought up and the things I was exposed to and the way my life was."
"It taught me a lot of things; I learned to survive, I learned to be tough and I learned to be resilient. I never thought I would be here talking about a fight for the heavyweight championship."
BT Sport Box Office will show Fury v Whyte exclusively live on Saturday from 6pm. For more information go to bt.com/sportboxoffice
